Sudbury Remembers September 11th Tragedy – 2020
The past two years have been unusual for Sudbury’s September 11th Memorial Garden Oversight Committee, who for 19 years has organized the town’s September 11th commemorations at the Memorial Garden in Heritage Park.
The annual ceremonies honor those who perished in the tragic 2001 terrorist attacks, particularly Sudbury residents Geoffrey Cloud, Peter Morgan Goodrich, and Cora Hidalgo Holland, as well as Lisa Gordenstein, whose family now lives in Sudbury.
Last year’s event was cancelled just a few days before September 11th due to an elevated risk of Eastern equine encephalitis.
This year, COVID-19 forced the Committee to once again cancel the commemoration, a decision that prioritized public safety and health and adhered to restrictions enacted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regarding outdoor gatherings.
“We still wanted to honor the day in a safe and respectful way,” said Beth Farrell, the Committee’s chairperson. “Even in a pandemic, we recognized the public’s continued desire to never forget what happened. That motivated us to find a new way to reach the community, and we came up with the idea for a video.”
Added Committee member Rachel Goodrich, “We realized this could be an opportunity to not only honor Geoff, Peter, Cora, and Lisa, and all those who were lost, but to tell the story of how the Memorial Garden came to be, and what it means to the families and the town.”
The result is a 16-minute long retrospective, filled with photos and footage from past commemorations. It shows how a grieving community came together in the darkest of times to conceive of, design, build, and embrace a space that offers comfort and solace to all who visit.
Committee members hope residents will watch the video and also visit the Memorial Garden safely throughout the day to pay their respects.
On Friday morning, the Sudbury Police and Fire Departments will honor the fallen with a Color Guard at the Memorial Garden, and the First Parish bells will toll at 8:46 a.m., the time the first hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center in 2001.
The September 11th Memorial Garden is located in Heritage Park, at the intersection of Concord Road and Route 27, across from Sudbury Town Hall.
